


The Curse Beneath Gotham

by GothamRogue81



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Gotham City - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:55:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21758677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GothamRogue81/pseuds/GothamRogue81
Summary: Tim Drake unveils a historical rumor which could be the cause of the dark cloud that hangs over Gotham City.  Determined to discover the truth, he sets out to reverse it.
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

The skies were dark and it was raining so hard that it was hard to see. If it were snow, it would be a blizzard, with white-out conditions. It was the sort of rain that people pulled over on the highway for, in fear of their own safety. But in Gotham City, it was just another rainy day. There were no cars pulled over. People were driving without regard of risk and pedestrians walked, getting wet despite toting umbrellas.

In a small coffee shop on the corner of Carol & Lyons, Tim sat at the front, watching people walk by through the distorted lense of the window. The sound of Elliot Smith in his headphones cancelled the hustle and bustle around him as he perused the several online articles he had open on his laptop, while pausing a few times a minute to sip from his coffee. 

When he pushed the empty coffee cup aside, a barista brought him a fresh cup and took the empty around. He nodded a silent thank you as she added it to his tab. This was customary for Tim’s trips to the Westside Roast shop. He was going to be there awhile, and rather than continuously go up and reorder a refill, the baristas here simply brought him another cup as soon as he pushed the empty away. Some days it would be 4 cups, others 12. It depended on the length of the visit.

Today, in the middle of a rain storm that would no doubt keep supervillains at bay temporarily, he was taking the opportunity to work on a school history paper. He hadn’t realized until the paper was assigned just how little he knew about the city he had grown up in. 

He knew some history of the 5 wealthy families (one of which he was now a member of) and how they helped to create much of the Gotham that everyone knew now, but he had never ventured further back into the more arcane history, including the founding by the Norwegian mercenary Jon Logerquist in 1635. 

As he read about Gotham’s involvement in the Revolutionary War, a fair amount of dark and occult roots became visible. As he read about the Miagani tribe, he came across a paragraph about where they had planted their roots, long before Logerquist’s arrival. It was said that they built their establishment above a tomb in which they had buried a sadistic warlock alive. It had been theorized that the dark cloud that seemed to be hanging over Gotham, and was quite literally doing so today, stemmed from this warlock. 

He had read stories of the Miagani tribe. Like the legend of Roanoke, the tribe vanished without a trace. They had become embroiled in a war with a Shaman who was also buried alive, but was reported to have escaped his cave tomb and was believed to have been the cause of the Miagani’s disappearance. 

However, Tim had never heard of the warlock. He tried to find more information, but could find nothing more than the story of the entombed man being a cause for the darkness of Gotham. He searched news sites, history books and scoured the net’s more hidden information banks to try and find out more, but it wasn’t there.  
Not the identity of the man, nor the exact spot where he was supposedly entombed. 

Not having the information would make it difficult, but no impossible for Tim to find out more. He grew excited at the idea of working on the paper. He had already written an extensive Socioeconomic report on Gotham’s power system, exploring the wealthy vs. poor, and the cycle of many of the less fortunate of the city having to resort to joining the gangs of the various super criminals of the city. It had not only won him an A+ from his Economics professor, but was published in the Gotham Times. 

This was different. This was something that he didn’t think would make him sad. In fact, the more he thought about the “Curse of Gotham” , the more he realized maybe this meant there was something he could personally do to fix it. 

Slaughter Swamp had produced the undead being Solomon Grundy. To do so, in Tim’s mind, must have required an extreme amount of dark energy and magic. Gotham’s bad luck and crime is one thing, but resurrection of the dead was quite a different thing. He pulled up a map of Gotham including the swampland outside of it. This land was down river from Wayne Manor. 

If the tomb was somewhere near the swamps, it would be a lot of ground to cover, but Tim was clever. He narrowed it down to several key locations based upon archeological evidence of the Miagani tribe as well as geographical history from before the Cataclysm. 

The paper now became a secondary assignment. He was focused on locating the tomb of the unknown warlock. He packed up his bag and waved to the friendly barista, signaling that he was done and she could run the card they had on file for him to settle his tab. Before it was finished, he was already out in the rain, bounding down the street towards the Metro Station.

When he reached Wayne Tower, he swiped his badge and ran through the halls towards R&D. He burst through the doors and Lucius Fox spun around from his work station. “Tim? What’s going on?”

Tim tossed his bag up on the desk and leaned on it, catching his breath. “I need some equipment!” he managed to say.

“And what sort of equipment are we talking about?” he asked, unsure whether it was Tim that was making the request, or Red Robin.

“I’m doing some surveying in the swamplands outside of Gotham…for a school project. I need something that can help me see beneath the ground. Sonar perhaps?” he replied.  
Lucius smirked. “Sounds like a pretty heavily involved school project, Mr. Drake. Should I expect visits from your classmates with similar requests?”

“They’ll have to figure something out for their own work Lucius,” he said. “Do you have any contacts over at the Gotham Museum of Natural History by any chance?”

He arched a brow. “As a matter of fact, I do. Professor Sandsmark is working there temporarily alongside Dr. Garrett on an exhibit. The two of them are some of the best in their field. I’ll tell them you’re coming,” Fox said.

Tim snatched up his bag and as quick as he had entered he was taking off again. “Thanks Lucius!” he called as he bounded out the door.


	2. The Miagani Trail

The Gotham Museum of Natural History loomed over Robinson Park, it’s large pillars stretching from the ground to the roof three stories above. Tim bounded up the streets like an excited child. Upon entering, he halted. He grumbled, having to stop at the ticket counter. 

“I’m here to meet with Professor Sandsmark. She should be expecting me,” he said, tapping his fingers impatiently on the counter. 

The spectacled older woman behind the counter looked up and picked up the phone, dialing an extension. She paused waiting for an answer and when it came, she smiled, “Hello Ms Sandsmark, are you folks expecting someone?” She looked up at Tim. “Name?” she asked.

“Timothy Drake. Lucius Fox sent me,” he said, rolling his eyes at how it had sounded like he was trying to gain access into a top secret hideout.

“Yes, that’s him. I’ll send him down,” she said, hanging up the phone and reaching beneath the counter. She pulled out a temp badge and wrote Drake/Sandsmark on it before slipping it in to the lanyard and handing it to him. “Second floor, down the hall and to the right. First door on your right,” she said.

He wasted no time. He flashed the lanyard to the ticket taker and pushed through the turnstile and headed up the main staircase. When he arrived at the office the woman downstairs had directed him to, he knocked and opened the door at the same time. The office was cluttered. Tim could relate. It was the setting of a genius   
at work, much like himself. “Professor Sandsmark?” Tim called out.

He stopped short, as he entered the room further and found himself looking at a young blonde girl sitting at a desk. “You Tim?” she asked.

“Yes. Tim Drake. Lucius Fox sent me over to see you,” he said. He looked down awkwardly. “I have to admit, I expected someone a little older.”

She smirked. “You’d be right to think that. My mother had to run downstairs for a minute. I’m Cassandra, not Helena,” she said.

“Oh! Of course!” he said, shaking his head. 

She went back to her book, putting her feet up on the desk. Tim stood awkwardly, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking around the room. There were towers of papers and books all over the place. The workroom looked like a miniature city. Tim wandered through the stacks and took it all in. “So you guys travel a lot for work?” he called out from the mess.

“Yep,” she replied, not looking up from her book.

“Far off places…must be exciting,” he added.

When she didn’t respond, he poked his head around the corner of a stack of books and saw the desk was empty. He turned around and jumped back, finding himself face to face with her. “What’s your deal kid? Why are you here anyway?”

“I, uh, I’m working on a project for school,” he said. 

“Bullshit,” she said accusingly. “What are you really doing?” 

Tim raised a brow, accessing the situation and getting a read on her. “The Miagani tribe settled on a spot of great interest to me. I’m trying to find as much information as I can to locate it,” he said. “Lucius led me to believe that your mother may be able to help me find it,” he continued. 

She laughed. “My mother’s area of expertise is not in Native American archeology. It’s Ancient Greek and Roman,” she said, turning and walking back to the desk.

“Well, if Lucius Fox thinks that she can help me, then she probably can,” he said. “So I’ll go ahead and let her decide whether or not she can help me.” He turned and continued to walk around, being followed with Cassandra’s eyes.

The door to the office opened and Professor Helena Sandsmark stumbled in, her hands full of more books. “Cassandra dear, help me with these!” she called out. Cassie rushed to her mother’s aide, grabbing the stack of books and bringing them over to one of the few free spots on the table near the door. “Oh! You must be Tim Drake!” she said as she took off her coat. 

“Yes Ma’am,” Tim said. “He says you may be able to help me with what I’m working on,” he said.

She looked around and found a chair, pulling it over to the desk and offering it to him before sitting herself. Cassandra looked at him and rolled her eyes. “So what are you working on?”

“As you may know, Gotham sits on land that was once inhabited by the Miagani Indians,” he began. “Not much is known of the tribe itself because they vanished quite suddenly, but it’s said that there is a tomb beneath the land they settled originally, and I’m trying to locate that tomb,” he said. 

“Yes, you’re right, not a lot is known about the Miagani,” she said. “But what we do know is that this would have been long before the city was split, so the area was, as I’m sure you are aware, very different,” she said. She stood up and pulled down a map of Gotham City on the side wall. “The western bank is thought to be where the main settlement would have began. So you’re looking at Slaughter Swamp and the area just south of it in the Palisades, as well as South Channel Island. If you’re searching for a tomb however, there’s no telling whether or not it survived the quakes. It could very well be at the bottom of the Queen’s River, I’m afraid.”

Tim nodded. “Is there any historical evidence that exists that confirms what actually happened to them? Or is it all speculation?”

She shook her head. “The Miagani are an enigma. We know they existed, because we have unearthed evidence of their civilization, but not a single skeleton has ever been found. We know that the Batman seems to have based his own image upon the legend of the tribe due to the fact that they too are said to have worshiped a Bat-God of some sort. The weapons and tools found have been bat-shaped in nature,” she said smirking. “You might say that Batman may be the same god that the tribe worshipped back then, come back to defend the city,” she said.

“Can you tell me where the majority of artifacts have been discovered?” he asked. “Would probably be the best place to start,” he asked.

She nodded, pointing to the map. “Just south of the swamp. Between the Palisades and Burnside. Most of the artifacts having to do with actual day to day living, the crafts and tools, were unearthed in that area,” she said.

“Thank you Professor Sandsmark,” Tim said. “That is extremely helpful!” He backed towards the exit and gave a sarcastic salute to Cassandra as he turned and left.

“What a peculiar young man,” Helena said, shaking her head.


	3. The Woods of Slaughter Swamp

Slaughter Swamp looked like something out of a Scooby Doo episode. Murky and filled with gigantic weeping-style trees it’s no wonder there were so many horror stories to come out of the area. To Tim, it was just Wednesday. He had everything he needed, including some equipment Lucius Fox had promptly provided. He trudged through the mud, scanning the ground. 

There were no abnormal readings coming up, much to Tim’s disappointment. He had ventured deeper into the woods, leaving the would-be trails behind. No one came out here very often. The foot paths were mainly from college kids sneaking out to have fires and drink, but didn’t go too far in as it was. 

Tim enjoyed the silence of the swamp. There was no chatter or horns or sirens, only the occasional bird tweet and twig snap. This part of Somerset and Gotham County was definitely different from the rest. But Tim knew that beneath the peaceful silence of the swamp and woods, there was something dark and dangerous, and that reminded him to stay focused on the task at hand.

As he ventured further into the darkness of the woods, he felt the air thicken and sensed a shift in the atmosphere. He rubbed his eyes as he looked through the trees. He wasn’t crazy. There was definitely a structure ahead. He cautiously made his way in that direction, scanning the area as he approached.

When he came to the small clearing, he found a dilapidated cabin. He looked around for signs of life, but couldn’t hear or see anyone or anything. The cabin was weathered and ancient looking. He couldn’t imagine anyone living in it. It was small, the size of two or three small sheds put together, with a sunken roof and splintered wood all over.

Tim unsheathed a flashlight and approached the cabin. Above the door was a splintered plank, that read in crudely carved letters the name Rykel. He peeked inside, but it seemed to be empty. A broken twin size bed, a table and chair and nothing else. He walked in and towards the other side of the room, looking out the window to see what was out back. Nothing. Just more trees. His ears suddenly perked. He spun around and threw a kick, but felt a hard fist come down and swat his foot back to the floor. He winced. 

As he held his shin, he looked up to see Cassandra Sandsmark in front of him. She laughed. “What ARE you doing?” she asked.

“What are YOU doing?” he asked, shoving past her. “Did you follow me?!”

“I may have,” she said. “I was curious as to just what exactly you were up to.” She walked around the room, looking around. “Come out here to get high or something?” she asked jokingly.

“No!” he said angrily. “I told you, I’m researching something. And I don’t need any help.” He walked out of the cabin, frustrated by the interruption. 

She followed, still laughing. “Don’t be such a whiner! There are no laws that say I can’t be out here. You go do your thing,” she said. 

He stormed into the woods, partially disappointed he didn’t get to explore the cabin further, but refusing to go back until she was long gone. But before he got too deep into the woods, he heard a low growl that caused him to stop in his tracks. The growl became a roar and it sounded like it was coming from the cabin behind him. He rolled his eyes and turned, dashing back towards the cabin.

As he emerged from the tree line he saw what confirmed his first thoughts: Solomon Grundy, lumbering out of the cabin and looking around. He didn’t see Cassandra, and feared the worst as Grundy made eye contact with him. As soon as their eyes locked, Grundy charged towards Tim, roaring. Tim leapt out of the way, rolling to the side as Grundy stumbled to his knees after the near miss. 

He got to his feet and turned towards Tim, raising two large gray fists in the air, but as he brought them down hard, they stopped short of him. Tim looked up and saw Cassandra standing above him. She had caught him by the wrists with her own bare hands. Grundy’s eyes narrowed on the girl. He reached down and grabbed her by the waist, lifting her up in the air. But she raised her fists and pounded them down, breaking his knuckles, which caused him to drop her. 

She grabbed Tim up by the collar and hurled him across the front of the cabin, sending him rolling out of the way to the side tree-line. She turned back to Grundy, and the two began to exchange blows. Tim watched with wide unbelieving eyes. 

Cassandra flew across the ground as Grundy landed a smack, but she got up and shook it off easily, standing up and brushing herself off. She reached behind her and Tim soon understood clearly what was going on. She slipped out a long rope and with a flick of her wrist it started to glow red and sparks raced up and down it as she lashed it out to the ground. 

Wish a yell, Cassandra charged at Grundy. She spun the red lasso around above her and lashed it forward as she neared him. He reached out and grabbed it in his hand and she smirked. Bolts of red lightning flowed into Grundy. She tightened her grip and the voltage seemed to increase. He dropped suddenly, lifeless to the ground.

“We’re gonna wanna get out of here. He’s not gonna stay dead long,” Tim said. She nodded and the two ran into the woods. When they got far enough away, Tim stopped and turned. “Funny, Sandsmark doesn’t sound like a Greek name,” he said. She put her hands on her hips and scowled at him. “So you’re one of Dianas?” he asked

“Diana?” she asked. “Like you know her?”

He laughed. “I oughta,” he said. “I’m Red Robin.”

She didn’t say anything for a moment, but finally took a deep breath, “Of course you are…”


End file.
